improvement plan draft - fremont county school … improvement plan2010...wind river elementary sy...

DRAFT Improvement Plan

Wind River Elementary

Fremont County School District #6

Mr. Paul Lundberg

PO Box 10 223 Cherry Street

Pavillion, WY 82523

DRAFT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction 1 Improvement plan 2010-2011Goals Summary 2

Goal 1: All students will demonstrate reading comprehension. 5

Goal 2: Students will communicate fluently by applying the writing process across the curriculum. 11

Goal 3: All students will improve in the area of Math Problem Solving. 17

Activity Summary by Funding Source 24 Conclusions 39


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Introduction

Continuous school improvement requires careful, honest, self-assessment, along with disciplined,thoughtful, planning and attention to an array of legal and programmatic requirements. Thanks to thecomprehensive set of ASSIST resources, AdvancED's state-of-the-art system that allows schools tostreamline and enhance their efforts to boost student achievement, continuous school improvementhas moved into the digital age. The ASSIST tools utilized to create this plan were designed to provide schools and districtswith a common planning template to be used as a blueprint that addresses identified studentlearning and system needs. The tools facilitate schools in using data profiles, self-assessments, and other diagnostic tools to identify areas of strength and opportunity. Theschool's diagnostic results then feed into the Improvement Plan (IP) to help with goalidentification and construction of measurable objectives building a high-quality plan forimprovement. Applicable Title I requirements are included to ensure schools are addressingall necessary compliance issues. The following steps are utilized in the blueprint for strategic plan development and implementation:

identify GOALS

construct MEASURABLE OBJECTIVES to define success

choose STRATEGIES to accomplish objectives

define ACTIVITIES to carry out strategies

make ACCOUNTABILITY assignments

allocate RESOURCES effectively

The end product of this process is the Improvement Plan (IP), which is encompassed within thisdocument. An all inclusive Improvement Report, fully aligned with state and federal requirements,will be generated to include the institution profile, executive summary, vision/mission statement,diagnostic results, assurances, as well as the Improvement Plan results presented in this document. The AdvancED seven Standards, Self-Assessment, diagnostic tools, and the Improvement Plantemplate work together to provide the basis for a systemic approach to school success.


SY 2010-2011 Page 1©2010 AdvancED www.advanc-ed.org

DRAFT

Improvement plan 2010-2011

Goals Summary

The following is a summary of the goals encompassed in this plan. The details for each goal are available in the next section.

# Goal Name Goal Details Goal Type Measurable Objective Total Funding1 All students will demonstrate reading

comprehension.Objectives:2Strategies:5Activities:8

Academic A 100% increase ofKindergarten, First,Second, Third, Fourth andFifth grade students willdemonstrate a proficiencyof reading comprehensionby increasing their gradelevel fluency rate,bybuilding automaticity ofgrade level sight words,demonstrating inflection,correctly applying syntaxand context clues, andusing visual imagery duringreading in EnglishLanguage Arts by05/30/2014 as measuredby PAWS, MAP, DIBELS,classroom assessments..,100% of Kindergarten,First, Second, Third, Fourthand Fifth grade studentswill demonstrate aproficiency of fluency andphonics reading skills (fromthe identified sub-group asexplained in strategies andactivities) in EnglishLanguage Arts by05/30/2015 as measuredby building and state levelassessments.

$94000



DRAFT

2 Students will communicate fluently byapplying the writing process across thecurriculum.

Objectives:2Strategies:6Activities:6

Academic 100% of Kindergarten andFirst grade students willdemonstrate a proficiencyof independently writingthree or more simplesentences related to aspecific topic that matchesa drawing, including a clearmessage, descriptivewords, relevant details, andproper organization inEnglish Language Arts by05/30/2014 as measuredby district rubrics asappropriate to grade level.,100% of Second, Third,Fourth and Fifth gradestudents will demonstratea proficiency of writingmultiple paragraphs on afocused idea using simple,compound, and complexsentences. Paragraphs willinclude a clear topicsentence, with relevantsupporting details,descriptive words, propervoice, transitions, andorganizational structure inEnglish Language Arts by05/30/2014 as measuredby district rubrics asappropriate to grade level..

$116000



DRAFT

3 All students will improve in the area ofMath Problem Solving.

Objectives:2Strategies:6Activities:7

Academic 100% of Kindergarten,First, Second, Third, Fourthand Fifth grade studentswill demonstrate aproficiency of problemsolving by identifying andselecting the appropriatestrategy, showing the stepsthey used, and explainingtheir thinking orally or inwriting in Mathematics by06/01/2013 as measuredby state and districtassessments., 100% ofKindergarten, First, Secondand Fifth grade studentswill demonstrate aproficiency of problemsolving by building theautomaticity of basic factsin Mathematics by05/29/2015 as measuredby Classroomassessments, PAWS, andMAP.

$104000



DRAFT

Goal 1: All students will demonstrate reading comprehension.

Strategy 1: Data Assessment Wall - The Data Assessment Wall is used as a visual tool to review and evaluate individual student progress in reading using DIBELS, MAP, and

PAWS data. This review and evaluation occurs three times a year and drives team level discussion regarding the overall effectiveness of the Literacy Essentials

framework and the major components therein. The discussions also center on the progress of individual students towards the goal of increasing their reading

comprehension. This strategy has implications towards students receiving focused intervention and monitoring.

Measurable Objective 1:A 100% increase of Kindergarten, First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth grade students will demonstrate a proficiency of reading comprehension by increasingtheir grade level fluency rate,by building automaticity of grade level sight words, demonstrating inflection, correctly applying syntax and context clues, and usingvisual imagery during reading in English Language Arts by 05/30/2014 as measured by PAWS, MAP, DIBELS, classroom assessments..

Activity - Implementation of the Data Wall Activity Type Begin Date End Date ResourceAssigned

Source OfFunding

StaffResponsible



DRAFTStrategy 2: Parent Connections - Parent connections will help to improve reading comprehension skills, communications, and support student learning through Cougar News,

classroom newsletters, parent/teacher conferences, report cards, and Family Nights.

In the spring of 2008 a team of teachers, including our Title One staff,visited Sage Brush Elementary in Sheridan, Wyoming to gleaninformation regarding their Literacy program and method of trackingstudent progress on a data wall. This visit helped us design our owndata wall and our Literacy Framework. The purpose of the data wall isto have a visual and interactive way of seeing students progress towardsthe acquisition of their reading skills. Their progress is tracked usingPAWS, DIBLES, and MAP assessments. In the fall of each year, whenthe first round of DIBELS and MAP testing is completed and whenPAWS data has been returned each student's name, on a colored card,is placed on the data wall under the heading of each of the assessmentswe are tracking. The color of the card is based upon the level ofperformance for each individual student. For example in DIBELS: a redcard would indicate a student testing in the intensive range, a yellowcard indicates the strategic range and a blue card represents thebenchmark level. In MAP and PAWS a red card indicates performanceat the Below Basic level, a yellow card at the Basic level, a blue card atthe Proficient level, and a green card at the Advanced level. Throughoutthe year, when DIBELS and MAP testing are administered, the data wallis updated during the team meeting process. DIBELS benchmark testingoccurs three times a year, MAP testing occurs in the fall and spring andPAWS testing is once a year. During this updating process student'scolored cards will be moved up and down the wall in accordance with theresults of the testing. The color of the card will remain the samethroughout the year so as to provide a quick visual representation of thestudent's progress from the beginning of the year. During this reviewprocess the identification of students struggling and students progressingbecomes readily apparent. Discussions are then held with theclassroom teacher and Title One staff as to what instructional strategiesare currently in place for that student and determine next steps for theindividual student. Next steps might include: putting the student into theschool BIT process for further and closer monitoring, assigning thestudent to the focused intervention time with the Title One staff and/orcontinuing the current intervention and strategies. The data walltracking system provides a quick visual representation that ultimatelyinforms us regarding the overall effectiveness of our Literacy Essentialsframework.

AcademicSupportProgram

09/01/2008 05/30/2015 $10000 Title ISchoolwide

PaulLundberg,StaceyJames,BarneyLacock

Activity - Mystery/Guest Community Readers Activity Type Begin Date End Date ResourceAssigned

Source OfFunding

StaffResponsible

Parents or community members will be invited to take part in classroomreadings as a guest or mystery reader. These guest and mysteryreaders read a story to the students and then ask questions about thestory thus providing for the students the opportunity to demonstrate theirreading comprehension skills.

ParentInvolvement

12/06/2010 12/17/2012 $0 No FundingRequired

ClassroomTeachers,Title I Staff,Principal



DRAFTStrategy 3: Weekly Extended Response/Prompt practice - Students in grades 3 through 5 will participate in weekly practice constructing a response to a reading extended

response question. These questions will be released items from the PAWS test and/or released items from other similar state tests. This strategy is designed to

give students the practice and skills necessary to be successful on the PAWS reading test. The weekly prompt will be aligned with the classroom focus calendars

so that the instruction occurring in the classroom will match the practice prompt.

Activity - Parent Partnership Activity Type Begin Date End Date ResourceAssigned

Source OfFunding

StaffResponsible

Parents will be informed of the effectiveness of our district's LiteracyFramework and ultimately our goal of increasing studentscomprehension skills through Cougar News, classroom newsletters,parent/teacher conferences, and report cards.

ParentInvolvement

09/06/2010 05/21/2012 $2000 OtherFundingSource

Classroomteachers,Principal,Linda Duthie(secretary)Title I Staff

Activity - Family Night and classroom/parent reading connections Activity Type Begin Date End Date ResourceAssigned

Source OfFunding

StaffResponsible

Parent connections to help improve reading comprehension skills will bemade through Family Literacy Nights and classroom/parent readingconnections. These family nights are held yearly and the date isdetermined by the school level reading committee. The purpose of thefamily nights is to gather parents and students together to interact withreading activities, games, and program understanding. Students usuallygo home with two new books, a bookmark, a pencil, and an eraser.Parents leave having had the chance to read several stories with theirchild, learn about the literacy framework, and learn how they can betterhelp their students at home with their reading skills. Theclassroom/parent reading connection is a quarterly reading magazinesent home to all parents. The magazine provides articles and activitiesthat parents can do with their children to enhance their child's readingskills.

ParentInvolvement


Title I Staff,PTA,ClassroomTeachers,Principal

Activity - Weekly Extended Response/Prompt practice implementation Activity Type Begin Date End Date ResourceAssigned

Source OfFunding

StaffResponsible



DRAFTStrategy 4: Literacy Essentials Framework - The Literacy Essentials Framework will improve reading comprehension by providing students with a 120 minute block of learning

that includes research based components of literacy instruction which are: Whole group instruction, small group leveled instruction, monitored independent

reading, conferencing, vocabulary development, and focused intervention. The literacy essential framework supports the implementation of the five components of

reading, which are: Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Vocabulary, Fluency, and Comprehension. Stephanie Harvey's six key strategies are used during whole group

instruction. Read Well and leveled, multi-copy classroom libraries are used during small group instruction. During monitored independent reading instruction

students read books at their level from leveled classroom libraries. Student-teacher conferencing occurs during independent reading. For vocabulary

development Words Their Way has been implemented. To meet the needs of individual student performing below grade level in reading, a focused intervention

time has been established to provide time to meet the needs of the individual student.

Beginning in January of 2011 students will practice constructingresponses to extended response questions weekly. These practicequestions will be similar to questions found on the PAWS test and mighteven be released PAWS items. These questions will be researched andfound to be in alignment with the classroom focus calendars. During theLiteracy Essentials 120 minute Block, whole group reading time,classroom teachers will administer the question to the students. Oncethe response is completed classroom teachers will discuss with studentsvarious aspects of the prompt and both good and poorly constructedresponses. Actual student responses will be used during thesediscussions. Through this process students will learn the skills andnecessary components for a good response. Teachers will also bringselected responses to monthly team meetings so that double scoringmay occur to ensure reliability of the teacher's assessment. Assessmentof the response will use a rubric system. These rubrics will bedeveloped by staff members or be the rubric released by the state withthe released response item. These meetings will also facilitate thecollaborative work among colleges to determine, based on thecomponents found in the responses, the strategies and instruction thatmay need to occur to help the student increase their reading skills.


01/03/2011 05/29/2015 $0 No FundingRequired

ClassroomTeachers,PaulLundberg

Activity - Implementation of Literacy Essentials Block Activity Type Begin Date End Date ResourceAssigned

Source OfFunding

StaffResponsible



DRAFTStrategy 1: Reading Intervention - Targeted sub-group - In a pull out setting by our Title One staff and certified tutors, focused intervention time has been implemented and

provided for students not performing at proficiency levels as measured by the DIBELS, PAWS, MAP, PAST (K-1) and building level assessments. During the

focused intervention time individual students are provided with explicit reading instruction focusing on specific deficit reading skills. Programs implemented during

this focused intervention are: Sounds Abound, Sounds in Action, LIPS, Barton Reading & Spelling system, Passport Voyager, Ticket to Read, Gate Phonics, Read

Naturally, and Phonics Boost. These programs are designed to provide explicit, systematic instruction in the areas of: phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary,

fluency, and comprehension concepts. As part of this process an after-school intervention is in place to provide targeted student another dose of focused, explicit

reading instruction using the Read Naturally and Barton Reading and Spelling System. This reading intervention strategy is designed to provide students the

instruction and tutoring needed to support and ultimately have each student achieving our goal of demonstrating reading comprehension.

The 120 minute Literacy Essentials Block is designed to provideinstruction to students in the five key areas of reading instruction. Thoseareas are: Phonemic awareness, decoding, vocabulary, fluency, andcomprehension. Phonemic awareness and decoding is taught using theRead Well program in Kindergarten through 2nd grade. It was broughtto the school in the fall of 2008 and the teachers were trained that fall byan outside trainer. Comprehension skills are taught using Read Well(grades K through 2) and the Stephanie Harvey Comprehension Toolkitusing the six key strategies which are: monitoring comprehension,activate and connect, ask questions, infer and visualize, determineimportance, and summarize and synthesize with emphasis being towardnon-fiction text. (grades 2-5). Stephanie Harvey was incorporated intothe Block in the fall of 2009; teachers received training in Denver thesummer of 2009. Fluency skills are taught and practiced using amonitored independent reading time and students conference with theirteachers during this time to check for the acquisition of comprehensionskills. During this monitoring teachers keep track of students progressusing reading logs. Vocabulary development is taught using the Wordstheir Way program. Word their Way focuses on the skills of vocabulary,phonics, and spelling word work. Teachers received training in Wordstheir Way the fall of 2008.

During this literacy block students receive instruction during designatedperiods of time. These times are Whole Group, small group leveledinstruction, monitored independent reading, and focused intervention.During Whole group instruction students are taught using the StephanieHarvey toolkit and the Read Well program. During Small group leveledinstruction students are taught using the Read Well program and leveled,multi-copy classroom libraries. The Words Their Way program is alsopare of the small group leveled instruction. Fluency practice isaccomplished through the use of leveled classroom libraries and theRead Naturally program. Vocabulary is taught using the Words theirWay program. Focused intervention time uses the Voyager and PhonicsBoost programs.



PaulLundberg,StaceyJames,SheilaSchmidt,ReneeGomendi,and BarneyLacock.

Measurable Objective 2:100% of Kindergarten, First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth grade students will demonstrate a proficiency of fluency and phonics reading skills (from theidentified sub-group as explained in strategies and activities) in English Language Arts by 05/30/2015 as measured by building and state level assessments.



DRAFT

Activity - Focused intervention Activity Type Begin Date End Date ResourceAssigned

Source OfFunding

StaffResponsible

As data was disaggregated throughout the 2007- 2008 school year itbecame apparent that specific interventions needed to be put into placeto meet the needs of the lowest performing students. In the fall of 2008a reading interventionist team was formed; this team researchedprograms to best meet the targeted needs of our students. In the fall of2009 the intervention team purchased the Voyager Passport and Ticketto Read program for grades 3through 5. These programs are specificallydesigned to provide students additional support in comprehensionstrategies. For grades K-1 Gate phonics was selected and purchasedto meet the student as needs in the area of phonics, vocabulary, andfluency concepts. Training for Passport, Ticket to Read and Gatephonics occurred in the fall of 2009. In the 2009-2010 school year theintervention team determined there was need for additional support forgrades 2through 5 in the areas of phonemic awareness, phonics,vocabulary, and fluency concepts, with that determination the PhonicsBoost program was selected. Training for the Phonics Boost programbegan in the spring of 2010 and is on-going. Each of these interventionprograms cover and provide learning in the 5 components of readinginstruction. The needs and eventual placement, of the individualstudents, is determined by disaggregating the data from our DIBELS,PAWS, MAP, PAST (K-1) and building level assessments. Students notdemonstrating proficient levels as measured by these assessmentsreceive a 40 minute pull out time by our Title One staff and certifiedtutors during the Literacy Essentials Block. These students are pulledfrom the regular classroom setting, during small group instruction, andreceive these interventions throughout the building.


08/25/2008 05/30/2015 $10000 Title I Part A StaceyJames, DianeFike, AmyApplegate,Cathy Clapp,and PaulLundberg

Activity - Afterschool Intervention Activity Type Begin Date End Date ResourceAssigned

Source OfFunding

StaffResponsible



DRAFTGoal 2: Students will communicate fluently by applying the writing process across the

curriculum.

Strategy 1: Talking, Drawing, Writing - Talking, Drawing, Writing is a program designed to teach young children the craft of writing by beginning with what they know. The idea

is that when children have a chance to talk through their stories first, they have a better sense of what they want to put on paper. Their ability to write with clear

details has much to do with possessing the language to say it. Drawing has a similar impact in that the program operates under the belief that children actually

begin their writing by drawing. As with talking, drawing helps provide the details the child is attempting to express. Drawing is one way that children can be heard.

If the classmates can understand the drawing, the child can be understood; he learns that people can read his drawings. Ultimately drawing is writing. Through

talking and drawing, students learn about the craft of writing. Because of the fact that all three aspects are part of a greater communication piece, the idea is that

one mode sets the stage for learning how to communicate in another. Because of this, the program at Wind River Elementary takes on the following format:

Talking:

In the spring of 2010 the intervention team concluded and recommendedto district administration the need for an additional intervention support.This support was needed in the form of a certified reading teacher. Therecommendation was discussed and the hiring of a full-time certifiedreading teacher to work mid-morning through 6:00 pm commenced.Having this reading teacher work through 6:00 pm allowed for focusedintervention during our Lights-On afterschool program. Additionallyduring the day hours of the schedule this teacher provided support to ourschool day focused intervention time. The Read Naturally program isused to provide students additional reading support in the areas ofcomprehension and fluency concepts. This certified teacher identifiedstudents using building and state level assessments as well asrecommendations from classroom teachers. The teacher contactsparents of identified students to invite and encourage their participationin this afterschool program. In the fall of 2010 the hired certified tutor inaddition to the Read Naturally program has implemented the BartonReading and Spelling System. A system designed to target the phonicsand phonemic awareness skills. Detailed records of student growth andprogress have been kept and are reviewed by building administrationand additional monitoring occurs using the building level data wall. Theschool profile will also be used to show longitudinal data against 2009baseline data. These sources of data will be reviewed each year todetermine the effectiveness of this activity. This activity has been putinto place to provide reading intervention to our lowest performingstudents that will help them gain the reading skills necessary toultimately demonstrate reading comprehension.



Cathy Clappand PaulLundberg

Measurable Objective 1:100% of Kindergarten and First grade students will demonstrate a proficiency of independently writing three or more simple sentences related to a specific topicthat matches a drawing, including a clear message, descriptive words, relevant details, and proper organization in English Language Arts by 05/30/2014 asmeasured by district rubrics as appropriate to grade level.



DRAFT

Students will tell simple stories with a beginning and end, focusing on organization and making sure the story make sense. Students will also consider their

audience, focusing on details, and clarification of information. Students will share stories about themselves with more detail. Finally, students will take part in

shared writing using telling sentences to talk about self, a topic, a picture, or a book. This process is initiated and sustained through teacher modeling.

Drawing:

Students will draw a picture about their story using shapes (circles, ovals, squares, and triangles. Students will progress to depict more details that relate to a

more elaborate story. Their drawings begin to show movement of characters and setting.

Writing:

Students will start writing simple sentences using phonetic sounds, random letters, and spacing based on their story telling and drawings. Sentences later will

include a detail and are focused on a single topic. Later students write more than one sentence to describe the drawings, using punctuation and capitalization

correctly. By May students will draw detailed pictures and write three or more sentences about it. This process is facilitated through modeling, independent

practice, consultation, and sharing.

The Talking, Drawing, Writing program is not a canned curriculum. Rather, it is a method to use the various modes to teaching communication, one of which is

writing across the curriculum.

Activity - Speaking, Drawing, Writing Implemented Activity Type Begin Date End Date ResourceAssigned

Source OfFunding

StaffResponsible



DRAFTStrategy 1: Parent Connection - Parents will continue to be informed of their student's writing through parent/teacher conferences, report cards, and celebration of student

writing with an Author Visit/Writing Process Night. Parents will also be selected to serve on the NCA Parent Committee.

In the fall of 2009 through the desire of the Kindergarten and 1st gradeteachers to have a writing program that taught and built upon earlywriting strategies, the district instructional facilitator and director ofcurriculum initiated a book study on the Speaking, Drawing, and Writingframework for teaching writing. These staff members met weekly, duringthe team meeting process, to read, learn about, and discuss thestrategies outlined in this framework. This book study lasted through thespring of 2010. After each meeting and discussion the staff memberswould go back to their classroom and implement the newly learnedstrategy then report on its effectiveness at the next meeting. As the staffmembers implemented the strategy, they were impressed with theprogression of students down the continuum of learning. The frameworkand steps to the process were then sequenced into the instructionalfocus calendars to be fully implemented in the fall of 2010. Lessondesigns and plans were also built during this process to help theclassroom teacher fully implement the framework. Follow-up to theimplementation of the framework is continuing through the 2010 2011school year by the writing coach. This follow up occurs during the teammeeting process as well as by scheduled classroom support.Administrator observations and attendance at grade level meetingsprovide for the necessary monitoring to ensure that the program is beingused with its intended fidelity. As the program is implemented andstudents writing continues to progress, a transition for 1st grade studentsinto the Step-Up to Writing program naturally will occur. By the 2014school year, longitudinal data will be available to measure theeffectiveness of the framework. This effectiveness will be measured bythe writing prompt scores accomplished during team meeting scoringprocesses. Three times each year Kindergarten and 1st grade staff willreview their quarterly writing prompts for additional monitoring ofprogram effectiveness.



Nancy Jones- WritingCoachKindergarten& 1st GradeTeachers

Measurable Objective 2:100% of Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth grade students will demonstrate a proficiency of writing multiple paragraphs on a focused idea using simple, compound,and complex sentences. Paragraphs will include a clear topic sentence, with relevant supporting details, descriptive words, proper voice, transitions, andorganizational structure in English Language Arts by 05/30/2014 as measured by district rubrics as appropriate to grade level..

Activity - Parent Connection Implemented Activity Type Begin Date End Date ResourceAssigned

Source OfFunding

StaffResponsible

Parents will continue to be informed of their student's writing throughannual parent/teacher conferences, quarterly report cards, and annualcelebration of student writing with an Author Visit/Writing Process Nightusually held in the spring. Parents will also be selected to serve on theNCA Parent Committee, which meets on a monthly basis. Parents willalso be aware of the various writing projects through the monthly CougarNewsletters. Parent participants will also be tracked in terms of rawnumbers with the intent of increasing parent participation over time.

CommunityEngagement

08/27/2010 05/31/2013 $1000 Title I Part A PaulLundbergBarneyLacock



DRAFT

Strategy 2: Quarterly Writing Prompts - Across grade levels quarterly writing prompts have been developed. These quarterly writing prompts are similar to prompts students

experience on the PAWS writing assessment and are intended to provide practice for students on these types of prompts. Additionally, these prompts are given

as a cold write, double scored using building level and state rubrics, disaggregated on skill level tracking charts, and discussed during the team meetings. During

this process, teachers and the writing coach are able to collaboratively discuss deficit skills in their students writing and plan instructional strategies to increase

those skills in their classroom. Grades K-2 will give three prompts a year and grades 3-5 will give five prompts a year covering the necessary skills and progress

of student writing as identified in the PAWS blueprints and released items. Timelines for the delivery of the prompts is outlined in the focus calendars. Meetings

scheduled for the scoring and disaggregation of the results is scheduled and will be implemented by the writing coach.

Activity - Quarterly Wrting Prompts Implemented Activity Type Begin Date End Date ResourceAssigned

Source OfFunding

StaffResponsible



DRAFTStrategy 3: Thinking Maps - Thinking Maps are visual tools used to help students understand concepts, processes, and relationships in the writing process. These tools help

students organize the structure of the paper and generate ideas for theme development.

In the fall of 2009, during the careful analysis of PAWS writing data, itwas determined by the staff that increased practice, by students, onwriting to a prompt, and organization of writing was a skill our studentsneeded further instruction on. Through this analysis of the data, it wasdetermined that quarterly writing prompts would be developed in eachgrade level. Throughout the rest of the 2008/2009 school year, quarterlyprompts were written, aligned to PAWS blueprints and released items,and placed into the instructional focus calendars. It was determined thatgrades 3-5 give 5 prompts a year, a baseline prompt in the fall, abaseline expository prompt near the end of October, a final expositoryprompt at the beginning of December, a baseline narrative prompt inearly January, with the final narrative in late March. These prompts aresimilar to the expository and narrative prompts found on the PAWS test.Kindergarten through 2nd grade give 3 prompts a year, once in the fall,another at the beginning of January and the final prompt in April. Theprompts in Kindergarten through 2nd grade increase in level ofexpectation for sentence and paragraph development. The first quarterlyprompts were given in all grades in the fall of 2009. Shortly after theimplementation of this prompt, team meetings were held where theprompts were double scored and skills placed on to a tracking chart.Skills such as: sentence structure, conventions, organization, voice, topicsentence, conclusions, etc are scored using a 0, 1, 2, or 3 score andthen placed on to grade level tracking charts. During this process,strengths and weaknesses in students writing are discovered andcollaborative discussions and planning with teachers and the writingcoach occur to brainstorm strategies to implement in the classroom,which will ultimately correct these weaknesses found in the scoring andtracking process. Support from the writing coach in this process hasoccurred in more depth during the 2010-2011 school year, due to therecent placement of that position. The scoring is accomplished throughbuilding level and state scoring rubrics. Throughout the 2009-2010school year the prompts were administered as outlined in theinstructional focus calendars. Beginning in August of 2010, this processhas continued with further double scoring, identification of studentstrengths and weaknesses, and discussion on how to increase studentskills in the organization and effectiveness of their writing. By spring of2011 each classroom should have a complete set of anchor papers foreach of the writing prompts. By 2014 Longitudinal data will be availableto measure overall effectiveness of the program: writing prompt scores,MAP scores, and PAWS writing scores.



Nancy JonesBarneyLacockPaulLundbergClassroomteachers

Activity - Thinking Maps Activity Type Begin Date End Date ResourceAssigned

Source OfFunding

StaffResponsible



DRAFTStrategy 4: Step Up to Writing - In the second half of first grade through 5th grade, students use the Step Up to Writing program. Step Up to Writing is an ongoing process that

requires frequent demonstration, analysis of authentic student work, interactive hands-on lessons, small group, and independent practice. Step Up to Writing

breaks complex tasks into small, easy steps. Students then use these steps individually and practice putting them together. These steps eventually guide them

from brainstorming to a final product. As a general rule, Step Up to Writing strategies can be used across the curriculum as well as preparation for the state testing

since the same Step Up to Writing processes are used in each venue. Step Up to Writing also provides for a commonality of language across grade levels,

providing for coherent and sequenced writing instruction.

In June of 2009, Charles Jenks and Wendy Jones went to Texas to betrained as trainers in the use and implementation of Thinking Maps.This team then came back and upon the development of the professionaldevelopment academies and through the year 2009 - 2010 trained eachstaff member in the theory, processes, development, and orchestrationof Thinking Maps in their individual classrooms. As part of that trainingCharles and Wendy conducted peer rehearsals, observing each teacherin their individual classrooms implementing one or more of the thinkingmaps. After the peer rehearsal, Charles and Wendy provided feedbackto the staff member on the implementation. Thinking maps aresustained throughout the school system by this team of in-house trainersand the writing coach serving as a resource for teachers to usethroughout the year for further training, observations, suggestions,classroom support, and idea generation in the implementation of thisorganization system. Currently, during the writing block and as studentswork through the steps of the writing process across the school system,the Circle Thinking Map is being used in all classrooms. This map isused to help students brainstorm their ideas around a central idea andthen use those brainstormed ideas to develop their Step-Up to Writing T-Outline for further organizational effectiveness. Quarterly writingprompts, administrative observations, and PAWS results in writing will bemonitored each year to determine the effectiveness of the use ofThinking Maps throughout the school system.



ClassroomTeachersCharlesJenksWendy JonesPaulLundberg

Activity - Training Activity Type Begin Date End Date ResourceAssigned

Source OfFunding

StaffResponsible

Step Up to Writing training is for K-8 staff. Staff received training onOctober 8, 2010 in the latest version of Step Up to Writing with a specific2-8 grade focus. The writing coach provided additional training duringteam meetings immediately after the Step Up to Writing Training inOctober and November. Staff will also receive follow up training inspring of 2011. Moreover at the beginning of each school year, new staffhired will receive training from the writing coach to ensure sustainabilityof the program. New staff will implement Step Up to Writing strategiesunder the close supervision of the writing coach and principal.Observation and feedback will be focused to ensure initial properimplementation. Finally, through the Teacher Leadership Qualityprogram, teachers will be provided with ongoing training throughout theschool year.



WritingCoachBarneyLacockPaulLundberg2-5 Staff



DRAFT

Strategy 5: Writing Coach - The half time K-8 Writing Coach works directly with the teachers in the classroom through the use of the Jim Knight Instructional Coaching Model

to enhance teacher delivery of instruction. This includes classroom modeling of particular Step Up to writing strategies to Talk Drawing, and Writing techniques,

observation and feedback with respect to identified short term classroom goals and practices identified in team meetings and one-on-one conferences, and

participation in team meetings. This also includes leading the implementation of the writing prompts which includes double scoring, rubric development, data

analysis, student concern issues, and short term classroom goal setting. The intent is to increase the technical ability of teachers with respect to writing instruction,

which in turn should improve increased student writing ability across the curriculum.

Goal 3: All students will improve in the area of Math Problem Solving.

Activity - Classroom Support Activity Type Begin Date End Date ResourceAssigned

Source OfFunding

StaffResponsible

After a review of the data, during the spring of 2010, a half time writingcoach was assigned for K-8 to support the classroom teachers inteaching the writing process, as it was determined that writing scoreswere relatively low in the district. Initially the Reading Coach beganworking with staff to create writing prompts for each grade level. Thisprocess led to a review of the PAWS released items, standards, PAWSBlueprints, and scoring rubrics. With the Reading Coach's guidance, staffalso created a skills tracking chart to follow student writing ability at thespecific skill level. In August of 2010, the reading coach then led the firstround of double scoring and anchor paper identification as well as whatskills the grade level teachers would focus on for the next quarter. TheReading coach is now providing classroom observation onimplementation of different writing strategies, and feedback is providedon what went well and what ideas could be used for improvement. Inaddition, the writing coach provides side by side modeling with respect toinstructional techniques. This can be in response to observations,feedback, teacher request, and implementation of new strategies.Moreover, twice a month the writing coach meets with the elementaryteachers during grade level teams to focus on a number of issuesregarding writing instruction. The writing coach provides mini-lessonscovering topics that are based on classroom observations and teacherrequest. Additionally, the writing coach leads in the Quarterly WritingPrompt Scoring Process and ensuing data analysis, ultimately identifyingareas of focus. By 2014 monitoring will be in the form of triangulatingwriting prompts, MAP, and PAWS longitudinal data to evaluate forstrategy effectiveness.



ClassroomTeachersNancy JonesPaulLundberg

Measurable Objective 1:100% of Kindergarten, First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth grade students will demonstrate a proficiency of problem solving by identifying and selecting theappropriate strategy, showing the steps they used, and explaining their thinking orally or in writing in Mathematics by 06/01/2013 as measured by state anddistrict assessments.



DRAFT

Strategy 1: Everyday Mathematics - The Everyday Mathematics program educates and provides students with a systematic approach to solving math problems by utilizing

multiple strategies, estimating an answer, checking for reasonableness, and justifying answers orally or in writing. Everday Math provides for differentiated

instruction, allowing children to learn math through multiple ways including paper and pencil exercises, hands on use of manipulatives, and skills-based math

games. The program encourages children to understand the why math is important and how they reach their answers, so they internalize what the are learning--

leading to effective math problem solving ability.

Strategy 2: Parent Communication - Parents will be informed of the effectiveness and program features of Everyday Math through newsletters, meetings, and Family Math

Night. Parents will also receive training in Everyday math with the intent that they in turn will assist the children at home to improve their math problem solving

ability. Part of this will stem from an increased understanding of the Everyday Math program.

Strategy 3: Quarterly Math Prompts - Via Quarterly Prompts, students will demonstrate their ability to solve math problems using a given prompt. The prompt will be assessed

to monitor student progress towards mathematical reasoning, which includes a student's ability to choose an appropriate strategy, estimate a solution, check for

reasonableness, and justify their thinking. These prompts ultimately will influence classroom instruction in that strengths and weakness will be identified, based on

Activity - Everyday Math Training Activity Type Begin Date End Date ResourceAssigned

Source OfFunding

StaffResponsible

An outside math program review by NWREL was conducted andrecommendations were given to the district. A math committee wasformed and they conducted a study to identify and select a new mathprogram(2006-2007). Three trainers came in the 2007-2008 school yearand trained the staff on Everyday Math. Two staff members in thesummer of 2009 were sent to Chicago to become in-house trainers.In-house trainers will be used as a resource and will also address issuesduring team meetings. Future plans are in place to hire a monthly in-house math consultant. (Fall, 2011).

ProfessionalDevelopment


ReneeGomendiJo HartmanClassroomTeachersPrincipalMathConsultant

Activity - Connecting with Parents Activity Type Begin Date End Date ResourceAssigned

Source OfFunding

StaffResponsible

Through various means of communication, parents will be informed ofthe effectiveness, features, goals, and routines of the Everyday MathProgram. Communication sources include the monthly Cougar News,Everyday Math newsletters, annual parent teacher conferences, andannual Family Math Nights. Everyday Math will be featured at least twicein the Cougar News,preferably in the Fall and Spring. Programdiscussion, parent tips, and data will be the focus of the communication.Family Math nights provide education on the Everyday Math programand parent and student participation in the Everyday Math Games; thegoal is for parents to better help students at home with their Math.

ParentInvolvement


ClassroomTeachersPrincipalPTAOfficeSecretary



DRAFT

scoring rubrics. Adjustments in classroom delivery strategies and content will then be made to facilitate student progress with respect to math problem solving.

Strategy 4: FASTT Math - FASTT Math will build automaticity of math facts to support problem solving abilities. The idea is that if a student has to compute the answers to

basic facts, less of that student's thinking capacity can be devoted to higher level concepts than a student who can effortlessly recall the answers to basic math

facts. Students will participate in the FASTT Math program 10 to 15 minutes, three days a week. FASTT Math will be part of the regular 90 minute math block and

will operate as support to the Every Day Math Program.

Activity - Implementation of Quarterly Prompts Activity Type Begin Date End Date ResourceAssigned

Source OfFunding

StaffResponsible

In January 2011 K-5 staff will begin to administer quarterly mathprompts. These prompts will cover all math strands (number concepts,algebra, measurement, data, and geometry), ensuring an adequatesampling. All prompts will require an open ended response as the goalis to assess mathematical reasoning, which includes a student's ability tochoose an appropriate strategy, estimate a solution, check forreasonableness, and justify their thinking--mirroring PAWS style testitems. The prompts will be created or chosen based on several criteria:First the prompts will reflect real word problems that require an analysisof the problem, a solution, and then communication and defense of thesolution. Second PAWS content limits, PAWS released items, and statestandards will serve as a guide for prompt development andidentification. Quarterly Math Prompts will be placed in grade levelnotebooks, initial notebooks submitted to the principal by May 2011.Beginning in March 2011, during team meetings, staff will double scoremath prompts to ensure reliability of scores and to facilitate teamdiscussion of the math program, classroom effectiveness, and individualstudent needs. In grades 3-5, the prompts will cover the five math strands specificallyand will be blueprinted. Prompts in grades 3-5 will also receive a biasreview and will be part of the overall district assessment system, trackingthe effectiveness of math instruction. Since the goal is to preparestudents to engage in open ended PAWS style problems, by 2014 mathprompt results will be compared against the state level items to monitoragainst grade inflation and for program effectiveness.

Other 01/03/2011 05/29/2015 $0 No FundingRequired

BarneyLacockPaul LunbergK-5Classroomteachers

Activity - Implementation of FASTT Math Activity Type Begin Date End Date ResourceAssigned

Source OfFunding

StaffResponsible



DRAFTStrategy 5: RIT Band Instruction - Students at grade levels 3 through 5 will receive instruction at their RIT band level one time per week for 30 minutes to develop and

enhance the skills for each math strand (math standard). This instruction will be either remedial or enhancement, depending upon student skill level and placement

based on the RIT level score. The intent is to provide focused activities for students with common deficiencies, strengthen those basic skills and then direct those

improved skills toward an increased problem solving ability.

Beginning spring 2010 the K-5 staff determined through a MAP datareview that automaticity of basic math skills was a deficit for all students.This was impacting their math problem solving ability. Because of this,staff began to research various programs that would address this issue.By May staff had settled on FAST Math as it is researched basedprogram focused on helping students retrieve basic math facts frommemory both accurately and fluently. The program was purchased inNovember 2010. Software will be installed on school computers byJanuary 31, 2011. Once software is on site and loaded on computers,staff will receive training by February 28, 2011. FASTT Math will be useddirectly in the classroom during the regularly scheduled 90 minute mathblock. Staff will set aside 15 minutes three days per week for theimplementation of FASTT Math. FASTT Math will written into the teacherlesson plans: This will provide for specific student identification androtation in the program, and allow the principal to monitor the level ofusage. Staff will administer the pre-test component to determineappropriate placement in the program. Classroom teachers will use thereport and monitoring features to track and monitor student progresstowards acquisition of the intended outcome. Teachers will submitreports to building level administration on a monthly basis which willfurther enhance the administration's ability to monitor implementationand program effectiveness. FASTT Math reports will be used inconjunction with Map and PAWS in a triangulation of data to judge theimpact of the strategy by 2014.



PaulLundbergBarneyLacockK-5classroomteachers

Activity - Implementation of RIT Band Instruction Activity Type Begin Date End Date ResourceAssigned

Source OfFunding

StaffResponsible



DRAFTStrategy 1: Math Intervention--Targeted Subgroup - The math intervention focuses on students who are not proficient as measured by PAWS, MAP, and district assessments.

In a pull-out setting, the focused Math Intervention Strategy is designed to provide explicit remedial instruction in a technology based format as well as a face to

face format. A face to face format is used for individual students or small groups using Key Math Essential Resources on specific deficit skills until the identified

skill is mastered by the targeted student. Based on Key Math results, Intervention specialists select lessons on particular topics to provide targeted intervention for

individual students who are struggling with specific concepts. Coverage of three content areas include: foundational math concepts, operational skills, and problem

solving, with the focus on problem solving. Progress monitoring of students is also conducted evaluating student mastery of each skill and progress towards math

problem solving.

In addition to the Key Math Essential Resources, FASTT Math provides a technology assisted option by providing a focused intervention for individual students,

Beginning January 2011, RIT Band Instruction will begin in grades 3-5.The grouping of students will be determined by RIT Bands scores foreach math strand (number concepts, algebra, measurement, data, andgeometry). Grades 3-5 will focus on the same strand, for a pre-determined time. This decision regarding the length of time allotted forthe strand will be reached in the weekly team meetings, based on areview of the following: PAWS content limits, PAWS Blueprintdocuments, and monthly student math prompt results.Using the Descartes information provided by NWEA, instruction will beplanned according to the concepts outlined in each RIT Band and willinclude developing and/or enhancing the identified skills. Teachers willresearch these skills and develop alternate activities to address eachstrand at the RIT band level. These activities will then be kept innotebooks and updated as activities prove either effective non-effective.The initial notebooks will be completed by spring 2011. Additionally theskill activities will be focused towards building to a specific monthly orquarterly math prompt that will represent a real world problem or aPAWS released item, guaranteeing that the skills will not be taughtwithout direction.Pre and post formative tests will be developed by 2013 to track theprogress of student skills against the identified needs. These pre/posttests will be leveled against each RIT band, grade level PAWS contentlimits, and PAWS blueprints; assessments will then be given at thebeginning of the RIT cycle and then every three weeks thereafter.Following each formative assessment round, the teacher responsible forthe strand and RIT band instruction will report student results at theweekly team meetings and discuss implications with respect toclassroom instruction and expectations.Finally at the end of each strand cycle, teachers will report formativeassessment results and compare those results against the monthly andquarterly math prompts data, with the intent of monitoring foreffectiveness. By 2014 trend data regarding formative assessments,Quarterly Math Prompts, MAP, and PAWS will be available to correlateand evaluate overall effectiveness of the strategy.



3-5classroomteachersPaullundbergBarneyLacock

Measurable Objective 2:100% of Kindergarten, First, Second and Fifth grade students will demonstrate a proficiency of problem solving by building the automaticity of basic facts inMathematics by 05/29/2015 as measured by Classroom assessments, PAWS, and MAP.



DRAFT

training them to retrieve basic math facts from memory, both accurately and fluently. The idea is to help students abandon inefficient strategies, such as finger

counting, to determine answers to basic facts. Mastery of these basic skills will allow the student to successfully attend and master the larger problem solving

expectations. As in Key Math, students are placed in lessons based on placement tests, ensuing progress monitoring and student tracking.

Activity - FASTT Math Intervention Activity Type Begin Date End Date ResourceAssigned

Source OfFunding

StaffResponsible

Beginning spring 2010 the K-5 staff determined through a MAP datareview that automaticity of basic math skills was a deficit for all students.This was impacting their math problem solving ability. Because of this,staff began to research various programs that would address this issue.By May staff had settled on FAST Math as it is researched basedprogram focused on helping students retrieve basic math facts frommemory both accurately and fluently. The program was purchased inNovember 2010. Software will be installed on school computers byJanuary 31, 2011. Once software is on site and loaded on computers,staff will receive training by February 28, 2011.While FASTT math will be used directly in the classroom during thescheduled 90 minute math block, FASTT math will also be used as anextra intervention for identified students who are not proficient in mathproblem solving skills. The intervention teacher will administer the pre-test component to determine appropriate placement in the program anduse the report and monitoring features to track and monitor studentprogress towards acquisition of the intended outcome.By February 2011 staff will meet in grade level team meetings andidentify time frames that the FASTT Math can be implemented as anintervention. Staff will also identify minutes per week needed, based onprogram recommendations. Staff will also determine what data should betracked and when it should be reported.During the spring of 2011, administration will explore the possibility ofadding a math intervention specialist to further serve needy mathstudents.FASTT Math reports will be used in conjunction with Key Math, Map andPAWS to judge the impact of the strategy by 2014.



StaceyJamesPaulLundbergBarneyLacock

Activity - Focused Math Intervention Activity Type Begin Date End Date ResourceAssigned

Source OfFunding

StaffResponsible



DRAFT

In August 2009, the Title I teacher, principal, and Kindergarten, firstgrade, second grade, and 5th grade staff established a specificscheduled time for focused intervention in math for those students whodo not demonstrate proficiency in math skills. Additionally, the Mathintervention teacher received in-house training using program materialsfrom Key Math 3 and Essential Resources. Beginning in August 2010teachers began to identify students for testing based on classroomperformance, PAWS, and MAP data. The half time intervention teacherthen tests students using Key Math for determination of lessonplacement. The teacher then will provide to identified students explicitremedial instruction on targeted deficit skills by using Key Math EssentialResources. This remedial time is provided 2 times per week 25 minuteseach as supplemental instruction to the regular 90 minute math block.During focused Intervention time, teachers will provide hands onexploration of new concepts through the use of manipulatives. Theintervention teacher will also use open ended questions to engagestudents in critical thinking to support the goals of math problem solvingin the classroom. Students will be exited from the focused interventionprogram when their Key Math 3, MAP, and PAWS data demonstrate thatthey are proficient in math problem solving. By 2014 Key Math, MAP,and PAWS trend data will be triangulated to evaluate the strategyeffectiveness.

DirectInstruction

08/09/2010 05/29/2015 $30000 Title I Part A PaulLundbergBarneyLacockStaceyJames



DRAFT

Activity Summary by Funding Source

Below is a breakdown of your activities by funding source

No Funding Required

Activity Name Activity Description Activity Type Begin Date End Date ResourceAssigned

StaffResponsible

Implementation of QuarterlyPrompts

In January 2011 K-5 staff will begin to administer quarterlymath prompts. These prompts will cover all math strands(number concepts, algebra, measurement, data, andgeometry), ensuring an adequate sampling. All promptswill require an open ended response as the goal is toassess mathematical reasoning, which includes astudent's ability to choose an appropriate strategy,estimate a solution, check for reasonableness, and justifytheir thinking--mirroring PAWS style test items. Theprompts will be created or chosen based on severalcriteria: First the prompts will reflect real word problemsthat require an analysis of the problem, a solution, andthen communication and defense of the solution. SecondPAWS content limits, PAWS released items, and statestandards will serve as a guide for prompt developmentand identification. Quarterly Math Prompts will be placedin grade level notebooks, initial notebooks submitted tothe principal by May 2011. Beginning in March 2011,during team meetings, staff will double score mathprompts to ensure reliability of scores and to facilitateteam discussion of the math program, classroomeffectiveness, and individual student needs. In grades 3-5, the prompts will cover the five mathstrands specifically and will be blueprinted. Prompts ingrades 3-5 will also receive a bias review and will be partof the overall district assessment system, tracking theeffectiveness of math instruction. Since the goal is toprepare students to engage in open ended PAWS styleproblems, by 2014 math prompt results will be comparedagainst the state level items to monitor against gradeinflation and for program effectiveness.

Other 01/03/2011 05/29/2015 $0 BarneyLacockPaul LunbergK-5Classroomteachers

Mystery/Guest CommunityReaders

Parents or community members will be invited to take partin classroom readings as a guest or mystery reader.These guest and mystery readers read a story to thestudents and then ask questions about the story thusproviding for the students the opportunity to demonstratetheir reading comprehension skills.

ParentInvolvement

12/06/2010 12/17/2012 $0 ClassroomTeachers,Title I Staff,Principal



DRAFTOther Funding Source

Weekly ExtendedResponse/Prompt practiceimplementation

Beginning in January of 2011 students will practiceconstructing responses to extended response questionsweekly. These practice questions will be similar toquestions found on the PAWS test and might even bereleased PAWS items. These questions will beresearched and found to be in alignment with theclassroom focus calendars. During the LiteracyEssentials 120 minute Block, whole group reading time,classroom teachers will administer the question to thestudents. Once the response is completed classroomteachers will discuss with students various aspects of theprompt and both good and poorly constructed responses.Actual student responses will be used during thesediscussions. Through this process students will learn theskills and necessary components for a good response.Teachers will also bring selected responses to monthlyteam meetings so that double scoring may occur toensure reliability of the teacher's assessment.Assessment of the response will use a rubric system.These rubrics will be developed by staff members or bethe rubric released by the state with the releasedresponse item. These meetings will also facilitate thecollaborative work among colleges to determine, basedon the components found in the responses, the strategiesand instruction that may need to occur to help the studentincrease their reading skills.


01/03/2011 05/29/2015 $0 ClassroomTeachers,PaulLundberg

Total $0


StaffResponsible



DRAFT

Speaking, Drawing, WritingImplemented

In the fall of 2009 through the desire of the Kindergartenand 1st grade teachers to have a writing program thattaught and built upon early writing strategies, the districtinstructional facilitator and director of curriculum initiated abook study on the Speaking, Drawing, and Writingframework for teaching writing. These staff members metweekly, during the team meeting process, to read, learnabout, and discuss the strategies outlined in thisframework. This book study lasted through the spring of2010. After each meeting and discussion the staffmembers would go back to their classroom andimplement the newly learned strategy then report on itseffectiveness at the next meeting. As the staff membersimplemented the strategy, they were impressed with theprogression of students down the continuum of learning.The framework and steps to the process were thensequenced into the instructional focus calendars to befully implemented in the fall of 2010. Lesson designs andplans were also built during this process to help theclassroom teacher fully implement the framework.Follow-up to the implementation of the framework iscontinuing through the 2010 2011 school year by thewriting coach. This follow up occurs during the teammeeting process as well as by scheduled classroomsupport. Administrator observations and attendance atgrade level meetings provide for the necessary monitoringto ensure that the program is being used with its intendedfidelity. As the program is implemented and studentswriting continues to progress, a transition for 1st gradestudents into the Step-Up to Writing program naturally willoccur. By the 2014 school year, longitudinal data will beavailable to measure the effectiveness of the framework.This effectiveness will be measured by the writing promptscores accomplished during team meeting scoringprocesses. Three times each year Kindergarten and 1stgrade staff will review their quarterly writing prompts foradditional monitoring of program effectiveness.


09/15/2009 05/30/2014 $50000 Nancy Jones- WritingCoachKindergarten& 1st GradeTeachers

Parent Partnership Parents will be informed of the effectiveness of ourdistrict's Literacy Framework and ultimately our goal ofincreasing students comprehension skills through CougarNews, classroom newsletters, parent/teacherconferences, and report cards.

ParentInvolvement

09/06/2010 05/21/2012 $2000 Classroomteachers,Principal,Linda Duthie(secretary)Title I Staff



DRAFT

Everyday Math Training An outside math program review by NWREL wasconducted and recommendations were given to thedistrict. A math committee was formed and theyconducted a study to identify and select a new mathprogram(2006-2007). Three trainers came in the 2007-2008 school year and trained the staff on Everyday Math.Two staff members in the summer of 2009 were sent toChicago to become in-house trainers.In-house trainerswill be used as a resource and will also address issuesduring team meetings. Future plans are in place to hire amonthly in-house math consultant. (Fall, 2011).

ProfessionalDevelopment

08/16/2010 06/01/2015 $50000 ReneeGomendiJo HartmanClassroomTeachersPrincipalMathConsultant

Afterschool Intervention In the spring of 2010 the intervention team concluded andrecommended to district administration the need for anadditional intervention support. This support was neededin the form of a certified reading teacher. Therecommendation was discussed and the hiring of a full-time certified reading teacher to work mid-morningthrough 6:00 pm commenced. Having this readingteacher work through 6:00 pm allowed for focusedintervention during our Lights-On afterschool program.Additionally during the day hours of the schedule thisteacher provided support to our school day focusedintervention time. The Read Naturally program is used toprovide students additional reading support in the areas ofcomprehension and fluency concepts. This certifiedteacher identified students using building and state levelassessments as well as recommendations fromclassroom teachers. The teacher contacts parents ofidentified students to invite and encourage theirparticipation in this afterschool program. In the fall of2010 the hired certified tutor in addition to the ReadNaturally program has implemented the Barton Readingand Spelling System. A system designed to target thephonics and phonemic awareness skills. Detailedrecords of student growth and progress have been keptand are reviewed by building administration and additionalmonitoring occurs using the building level data wall. Theschool profile will also be used to show longitudinal dataagainst 2009 baseline data. These sources of data will bereviewed each year to determine the effectiveness of thisactivity. This activity has been put into place to providereading intervention to our lowest performing studentsthat will help them gain the reading skills necessary toultimately demonstrate reading comprehension.


02/15/2010 05/30/2015 $60000 Cathy Clappand PaulLundberg



DRAFT

Implementation of LiteracyEssentials Block

The 120 minute Literacy Essentials Block is designed toprovide instruction to students in the five key areas ofreading instruction. Those areas are: Phonemicawareness, decoding, vocabulary, fluency, andcomprehension. Phonemic awareness and decoding istaught using the Read Well program in Kindergartenthrough 2nd grade. It was brought to the school in the fallof 2008 and the teachers were trained that fall by anoutside trainer. Comprehension skills are taught usingRead Well (grades K through 2) and the StephanieHarvey Comprehension Toolkit using the six keystrategies which are: monitoring comprehension, activateand connect, ask questions, infer and visualize, determineimportance, and summarize and synthesize withemphasis being toward non-fiction text. (grades 2-5).Stephanie Harvey was incorporated into the Block in thefall of 2009; teachers received training in Denver thesummer of 2009. Fluency skills are taught and practicedusing a monitored independent reading time and studentsconference with their teachers during this time to checkfor the acquisition of comprehension skills. During thismonitoring teachers keep track of students progress usingreading logs. Vocabulary development is taught using theWords their Way program. Word their Way focuses onthe skills of vocabulary, phonics, and spelling word work.Teachers received training in Words their Way the fall of2008.

During this literacy block students receive instructionduring designated periods of time. These times areWhole Group, small group leveled instruction, monitoredindependent reading, and focused intervention. DuringWhole group instruction students are taught using theStephanie Harvey toolkit and the Read Well program.During Small group leveled instruction students are taughtusing the Read Well program and leveled, multi-copyclassroom libraries. The Words Their Way program isalso pare of the small group leveled instruction. Fluencypractice is accomplished through the use of leveledclassroom libraries and the Read Naturally program.Vocabulary is taught using the Words their Way program.Focused intervention time uses the Voyager and PhonicsBoost programs.


08/15/2011 05/31/2013 $10000 PaulLundberg,StaceyJames,SheilaSchmidt,ReneeGomendi,and BarneyLacock.



DRAFT

Classroom Support After a review of the data, during the spring of 2010, a halftime writing coach was assigned for K-8 to support theclassroom teachers in teaching the writing process, as itwas determined that writing scores were relatively low inthe district. Initially the Reading Coach began workingwith staff to create writing prompts for each grade level.This process led to a review of the PAWS released items,standards, PAWS Blueprints, and scoring rubrics. Withthe Reading Coach's guidance, staff also created a skillstracking chart to follow student writing ability at thespecific skill level. In August of 2010, the reading coachthen led the first round of double scoring and anchorpaper identification as well as what skills the grade levelteachers would focus on for the next quarter. TheReading coach is now providing classroom observationon implementation of different writing strategies, andfeedback is provided on what went well and what ideascould be used for improvement. In addition, the writingcoach provides side by side modeling with respect toinstructional techniques. This can be in response toobservations, feedback, teacher request, andimplementation of new strategies. Moreover, twice amonth the writing coach meets with the elementaryteachers during grade level teams to focus on a numberof issues regarding writing instruction. The writing coachprovides mini-lessons covering topics that are based onclassroom observations and teacher request. Additionally,the writing coach leads in the Quarterly Writing PromptScoring Process and ensuing data analysis, ultimatelyidentifying areas of focus. By 2014 monitoring will be inthe form of triangulating writing prompts, MAP, and PAWSlongitudinal data to evaluate for strategy effectiveness.


08/23/2010 06/02/2014 $40000 ClassroomTeachersNancy JonesPaulLundberg



DRAFT

Implementation of FASTTMath

Beginning spring 2010 the K-5 staff determined through aMAP data review that automaticity of basic math skillswas a deficit for all students. This was impacting theirmath problem solving ability. Because of this, staff beganto research various programs that would address thisissue. By May staff had settled on FAST Math as it isresearched based program focused on helping studentsretrieve basic math facts from memory both accuratelyand fluently. The program was purchased in November2010. Software will be installed on school computers byJanuary 31, 2011. Once software is on site and loaded oncomputers, staff will receive training by February 28,2011. FASTT Math will be used directly in the classroomduring the regularly scheduled 90 minute math block.Staff will set aside 15 minutes three days per week for theimplementation of FASTT Math. FASTT Math will writteninto the teacher lesson plans: This will provide for specificstudent identification and rotation in the program, andallow the principal to monitor the level of usage. Staff willadminister the pre-test component to determineappropriate placement in the program. Classroomteachers will use the report and monitoring features totrack and monitor student progress towards acquisition ofthe intended outcome. Teachers will submit reports tobuilding level administration on a monthly basis which willfurther enhance the administration's ability to monitorimplementation and program effectiveness. FASTT Mathreports will be used in conjunction with Map and PAWS ina triangulation of data to judge the impact of the strategyby 2014.


11/01/2010 05/29/2015 $9000 PaulLundbergBarneyLacockK-5classroomteachers

Connecting with Parents Through various means of communication, parents will beinformed of the effectiveness, features, goals, androutines of the Everyday Math Program. Communicationsources include the monthly Cougar News, EverydayMath newsletters, annual parent teacher conferences,and annual Family Math Nights. Everyday Math will befeatured at least twice in the Cougar News,preferably inthe Fall and Spring. Program discussion, parent tips, anddata will be the focus of the communication. Family Mathnights provide education on the Everyday Math programand parent and student participation in the Everyday MathGames; the goal is for parents to better help students athome with their Math.

ParentInvolvement

08/23/2010 05/29/2015 $500 ClassroomTeachersPrincipalPTAOfficeSecretary



DRAFT

Quarterly Wrting PromptsImplemented

In the fall of 2009, during the careful analysis of PAWSwriting data, it was determined by the staff that increasedpractice, by students, on writing to a prompt, andorganization of writing was a skill our students neededfurther instruction on. Through this analysis of the data, itwas determined that quarterly writing prompts would bedeveloped in each grade level. Throughout the rest of the2008/2009 school year, quarterly prompts were written,aligned to PAWS blueprints and released items, andplaced into the instructional focus calendars. It wasdetermined that grades 3-5 give 5 prompts a year, abaseline prompt in the fall, a baseline expository promptnear the end of October, a final expository prompt at thebeginning of December, a baseline narrative prompt inearly January, with the final narrative in late March.These prompts are similar to the expository and narrativeprompts found on the PAWS test. Kindergarten through2nd grade give 3 prompts a year, once in the fall, anotherat the beginning of January and the final prompt in April.The prompts in Kindergarten through 2nd grade increasein level of expectation for sentence and paragraphdevelopment. The first quarterly prompts were given in allgrades in the fall of 2009. Shortly after theimplementation of this prompt, team meetings were heldwhere the prompts were double scored and skills placedon to a tracking chart. Skills such as: sentence structure,conventions, organization, voice, topic sentence,conclusions, etc are scored using a 0, 1, 2, or 3 score andthen placed on to grade level tracking charts. During thisprocess, strengths and weaknesses in students writingare discovered and collaborative discussions andplanning with teachers and the writing coach occur tobrainstorm strategies to implement in the classroom,which will ultimately correct these weaknesses found inthe scoring and tracking process. Support from thewriting coach in this process has occurred in more depthduring the 2010-2011 school year, due to the recentplacement of that position. The scoring is accomplishedthrough building level and state scoring rubrics.Throughout the 2009-2010 school year the prompts wereadministered as outlined in the instructional focuscalendars. Beginning in August of 2010, this process hascontinued with further double scoring, identification ofstudent strengths and weaknesses, and discussion onhow to increase student skills in the organization andeffectiveness of their writing. By spring of 2011 eachclassroom should have a complete set of anchor papersfor each of the writing prompts. By 2014 Longitudinal datawill be available to measure overall effectiveness of theprogram: writing prompt scores, MAP scores, and PAWSwriting scores.


10/15/2008 05/30/2014 $10000 Nancy JonesBarneyLacockPaulLundbergClassroomteachers



DRAFT

Implementation of RIT BandInstruction

Beginning January 2011, RIT Band Instruction will beginin grades 3-5. The grouping of students will bedetermined by RIT Bands scores for each math strand(number concepts, algebra, measurement, data, andgeometry). Grades 3-5 will focus on the same strand, fora pre-determined time. This decision regarding the lengthof time allotted for the strand will be reached in the weeklyteam meetings, based on a review of the following:PAWS content limits, PAWS Blueprint documents, andmonthly student math prompt results.Using the Descartes information provided by NWEA,instruction will be planned according to the conceptsoutlined in each RIT Band and will include developingand/or enhancing the identified skills. Teachers willresearch these skills and develop alternate activities toaddress each strand at the RIT band level. Theseactivities will then be kept in notebooks and updated asactivities prove either effective non-effective. The initialnotebooks will be completed by spring 2011. Additionallythe skill activities will be focused towards building to aspecific monthly or quarterly math prompt that willrepresent a real world problem or a PAWS released item,guaranteeing that the skills will not be taught withoutdirection.Pre and post formative tests will be developed by 2013 totrack the progress of student skills against the identifiedneeds. These pre/post tests will be leveled against eachRIT band, grade level PAWS content limits, and PAWSblueprints; assessments will then be given at thebeginning of the RIT cycle and then every three weeksthereafter.Following each formative assessment round, the teacherresponsible for the strand and RIT band instruction willreport student results at the weekly team meetings anddiscuss implications with respect to classroom instructionand expectations.Finally at the end of each strand cycle, teachers will reportformative assessment results and compare those resultsagainst the monthly and quarterly math prompts data, withthe intent of monitoring for effectiveness. By 2014 trenddata regarding formative assessments, Quarterly MathPrompts, MAP, and PAWS will be available to correlateand evaluate overall effectiveness of the strategy.


09/12/2011 05/29/2015 $7000 3-5classroomteachersPaullundbergBarneyLacock



DRAFT

Title I Part A

Thinking Maps In June of 2009, Charles Jenks and Wendy Jones went toTexas to be trained as trainers in the use andimplementation of Thinking Maps. This team then cameback and upon the development of the professionaldevelopment academies and through the year 2009 -2010 trained each staff member in the theory, processes,development, and orchestration of Thinking Maps in theirindividual classrooms. As part of that training Charlesand Wendy conducted peer rehearsals, observing eachteacher in their individual classrooms implementing one ormore of the thinking maps. After the peer rehearsal,Charles and Wendy provided feedback to the staffmember on the implementation. Thinking maps aresustained throughout the school system by this team ofin-house trainers and the writing coach serving as aresource for teachers to use throughout the year forfurther training, observations, suggestions, classroomsupport, and idea generation in the implementation of thisorganization system. Currently, during the writing blockand as students work through the steps of the writingprocess across the school system, the Circle ThinkingMap is being used in all classrooms. This map is used tohelp students brainstorm their ideas around a central ideaand then use those brainstormed ideas to develop theirStep-Up to Writing T-Outline for further organizationaleffectiveness. Quarterly writing prompts, administrativeobservations, and PAWS results in writing will bemonitored each year to determine the effectiveness of theuse of Thinking Maps throughout the school system.


06/15/2009 05/30/2014 $10000 ClassroomTeachersCharlesJenksWendy JonesPaulLundberg

Family Night andclassroom/parent readingconnections

Parent connections to help improve readingcomprehension skills will be made through FamilyLiteracy Nights and classroom/parent readingconnections. These family nights are held yearly and thedate is determined by the school level reading committee.The purpose of the family nights is to gather parents andstudents together to interact with reading activities,games, and program understanding. Students usually gohome with two new books, a bookmark, a pencil, and aneraser. Parents leave having had the chance to readseveral stories with their child, learn about the literacyframework, and learn how they can better help theirstudents at home with their reading skills. Theclassroom/parent reading connection is a quarterlyreading magazine sent home to all parents. Themagazine provides articles and activities that parents cando with their children to enhance their child's readingskills.

ParentInvolvement

09/06/2010 05/21/2012 $2000 Title I Staff,PTA,ClassroomTeachers,Principal

Total $250500



DRAFT


StaffResponsible

Focused Math Intervention In August 2009, the Title I teacher, principal, andKindergarten, first grade, second grade, and 5th gradestaff established a specific scheduled time for focusedintervention in math for those students who do notdemonstrate proficiency in math skills. Additionally, theMath intervention teacher received in-house training usingprogram materials from Key Math 3 and EssentialResources. Beginning in August 2010 teachers began toidentify students for testing based on classroomperformance, PAWS, and MAP data. The half timeintervention teacher then tests students using Key Mathfor determination of lesson placement. The teacher thenwill provide to identified students explicit remedialinstruction on targeted deficit skills by using Key MathEssential Resources. This remedial time is provided 2times per week 25 minutes each as supplementalinstruction to the regular 90 minute math block. Duringfocused Intervention time, teachers will provide hands onexploration of new concepts through the use ofmanipulatives. The intervention teacher will also use openended questions to engage students in critical thinking tosupport the goals of math problem solving in theclassroom. Students will be exited from the focusedintervention program when their Key Math 3, MAP, andPAWS data demonstrate that they are proficient in mathproblem solving. By 2014 Key Math, MAP, and PAWStrend data will be triangulated to evaluate the strategyeffectiveness.

DirectInstruction

08/09/2010 05/29/2015 $30000 PaulLundbergBarneyLacockStaceyJames



DRAFT

Title I Schoolwide

Focused intervention As data was disaggregated throughout the 2007- 2008school year it became apparent that specific interventionsneeded to be put into place to meet the needs of thelowest performing students. In the fall of 2008 a readinginterventionist team was formed; this team researchedprograms to best meet the targeted needs of ourstudents. In the fall of 2009 the intervention teampurchased the Voyager Passport and Ticket to Readprogram for grades 3through 5. These programs arespecifically designed to provide students additionalsupport in comprehension strategies. For grades K-1Gate phonics was selected and purchased to meet thestudent as needs in the area of phonics, vocabulary, andfluency concepts. Training for Passport, Ticket to Readand Gate phonics occurred in the fall of 2009. In the2009-2010 school year the intervention team determinedthere was need for additional support for grades 2through5 in the areas of phonemic awareness, phonics,vocabulary, and fluency concepts, with that determinationthe Phonics Boost program was selected. Training for thePhonics Boost program began in the spring of 2010 and ison-going. Each of these intervention programs cover andprovide learning in the 5 components of readinginstruction. The needs and eventual placement, of theindividual students, is determined by disaggregating thedata from our DIBELS, PAWS, MAP, PAST (K-1) andbuilding level assessments. Students not demonstratingproficient levels as measured by these assessmentsreceive a 40 minute pull out time by our Title One staffand certified tutors during the Literacy Essentials Block.These students are pulled from the regular classroomsetting, during small group instruction, and receive theseinterventions throughout the building.


08/25/2008 05/30/2015 $10000 StaceyJames, DianeFike, AmyApplegate,Cathy Clapp,and PaulLundberg

Parent ConnectionImplemented

Parents will continue to be informed of their student'swriting through annual parent/teacher conferences,quarterly report cards, and annual celebration of studentwriting with an Author Visit/Writing Process Night usuallyheld in the spring. Parents will also be selected to serveon the NCA Parent Committee, which meets on a monthlybasis. Parents will also be aware of the various writingprojects through the monthly Cougar Newsletters. Parentparticipants will also be tracked in terms of raw numberswith the intent of increasing parent participation over time.

CommunityEngagement

08/27/2010 05/31/2013 $1000 PaulLundbergBarneyLacock

Total $41000


StaffResponsible



DRAFT

FASTT Math Intervention Beginning spring 2010 the K-5 staff determined through aMAP data review that automaticity of basic math skillswas a deficit for all students. This was impacting theirmath problem solving ability. Because of this, staff beganto research various programs that would address thisissue. By May staff had settled on FAST Math as it isresearched based program focused on helping studentsretrieve basic math facts from memory both accuratelyand fluently. The program was purchased in November2010. Software will be installed on school computers byJanuary 31, 2011. Once software is on site and loaded oncomputers, staff will receive training by February 28,2011.While FASTT math will be used directly in the classroomduring the scheduled 90 minute math block, FASTT mathwill also be used as an extra intervention for identifiedstudents who are not proficient in math problem solvingskills. The intervention teacher will administer the pre-testcomponent to determine appropriate placement in theprogram and use the report and monitoring features totrack and monitor student progress towards acquisition ofthe intended outcome.By February 2011 staff will meet in grade level teammeetings and identify time frames that the FASTT Mathcan be implemented as an intervention. Staff will alsoidentify minutes per week needed, based on programrecommendations. Staff will also determine what datashould be tracked and when it should be reported.During the spring of 2011, administration will explore thepossibility of adding a math intervention specialist tofurther serve needy math students.FASTT Math reports will be used in conjunction with KeyMath, Map and PAWS to judge the impact of the strategyby 2014.


11/19/2010 05/29/2015 $7500 StaceyJamesPaulLundbergBarneyLacock



DRAFT

Implementation of the DataWall

In the spring of 2008 a team of teachers, including ourTitle One staff, visited Sage Brush Elementary inSheridan, Wyoming to glean information regarding theirLiteracy program and method of tracking student progresson a data wall. This visit helped us design our own datawall and our Literacy Framework. The purpose of thedata wall is to have a visual and interactive way of seeingstudents progress towards the acquisition of their readingskills. Their progress is tracked using PAWS, DIBLES,and MAP assessments. In the fall of each year, when thefirst round of DIBELS and MAP testing is completed andwhen PAWS data has been returned each student'sname, on a colored card, is placed on the data wall underthe heading of each of the assessments we are tracking.The color of the card is based upon the level ofperformance for each individual student. For example inDIBELS: a red card would indicate a student testing inthe intensive range, a yellow card indicates the strategicrange and a blue card represents the benchmark level. InMAP and PAWS a red card indicates performance at theBelow Basic level, a yellow card at the Basic level, a bluecard at the Proficient level, and a green card at theAdvanced level. Throughout the year, when DIBELS andMAP testing are administered, the data wall is updatedduring the team meeting process. DIBELS benchmarktesting occurs three times a year, MAP testing occurs inthe fall and spring and PAWS testing is once a year.During this updating process student's colored cards willbe moved up and down the wall in accordance with theresults of the testing. The color of the card will remainthe same throughout the year so as to provide a quickvisual representation of the student's progress from thebeginning of the year. During this review process theidentification of students struggling and studentsprogressing becomes readily apparent. Discussions arethen held with the classroom teacher and Title One staffas to what instructional strategies are currently in placefor that student and determine next steps for the individualstudent. Next steps might include: putting the studentinto the school BIT process for further and closermonitoring, assigning the student to the focusedintervention time with the Title One staff and/or continuingthe current intervention and strategies. The data walltracking system provides a quick visual representationthat ultimately informs us regarding the overalleffectiveness of our Literacy Essentials framework.


09/01/2008 05/30/2015 $10000 PaulLundberg,StaceyJames,BarneyLacock



DRAFT

Training Step Up to Writing training is for K-8 staff. Staff receivedtraining on October 8, 2010 in the latest version of StepUp to Writing with a specific 2-8 grade focus. The writingcoach provided additional training during team meetingsimmediately after the Step Up to Writing Training inOctober and November. Staff will also receive follow uptraining in spring of 2011. Moreover at the beginning ofeach school year, new staff hired will receive training fromthe writing coach to ensure sustainability of the program.New staff will implement Step Up to Writing strategiesunder the close supervision of the writing coach andprincipal. Observation and feedback will be focused toensure initial proper implementation. Finally, through theTeacher Leadership Quality program, teachers will beprovided with ongoing training throughout the school year.


10/08/2010 06/03/2013 $5000 WritingCoachBarneyLacockPaulLundberg2-5 Staff

Total $22500



DRAFT

Conclusions

This Improvement Plan defines the goals identified by Wind River Elementary for the identified

planning period

An all inclusive Improvement Report, fully aligned with state and federal requirements, will be

generated to include the institution profile, executive summary, vision/mission statement, diagnostic

results, assurances, as well as the Improvement Plan results presented in this document.



improvement plan draft - fremont county school … improvement plan2010...wind river elementary sy...

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